


Ensuring Cooperation

by NeurotropicAgentX



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Ex-Sith Ventress is Still Amoral, F/F, Ideological Clashes, Oral Sex, Rare Pair, Set Ambiguously Pre-Star Wars: Rebels, Vague Clone Wars Spoilers, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:24:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8390671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurotropicAgentX/pseuds/NeurotropicAgentX
Summary: Ventress is definitely not running from the Empire and she certainly doesn’t need protection from some ex-Jedi. She is not hiding. Ahsoka, on the other hand, learned a long time ago not to turn down help, no matter the source.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LaceFedora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceFedora/gifts).



> Cool pairing request, I hope you like it!
> 
> Many thanks to my awesome beta.

‘Jedi.’

Ahsoka didn’t need to face the intruder to recognise her Force-signature. She’d sensed the familiar dark presence aboard the other ship as soon as it had tried to hail her. It was the main reason she’d let it dock in the first place.

‘I’m not a Jedi anymore, Ventress.’ Ahsoka said, turning around. ‘I’m about as much of a Jedi as you’re a Sith.’

‘Still clinging to the old ways, then,’ Ventress said with a bitter twist to her lips. 

Ahsoka’s expression stayed neutral and she kept her mental shielding tight. ‘How did you find me?’

Ventress gave an elegant shrug. ‘I have my ways. I was a bounty hunter, you know.’

Ahsoka tensed. Ventress’s own shielding was holding strong enough that her intent was hard to read. She probably wasn’t here for the Empire itself, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t looking to make some credits. ‘“Was a bounty hunter”? As in no longer one?’ Ahsoka asked.

Ventress paused for a moment before looking around the room and avoiding Ahsoka’s gaze. ‘You haven’t even asked me what I’m doing here.’

Ahsoka scowled. ‘As riveting as that story’s bound to be, I’m a lot more concerned about how you found me. I’m not meant to be easy to find.’

‘It wasn’t easy, even for me. That’s part of why I’m here.’

‘Oh? Who did you tick off that you need to lay low?’ Ahsoka asked with a smirk.

‘I don’t need to hide from anyone,’ Ventress spat.

‘And yet here you are.’

Ventress’s lips peeled back from her teeth and the sudden burst of anger reverberated through the Force. ‘I’m not _hiding_. But the Empire has been hunting down Force-sensitives and my last contact _betrayed_ me to them.’

Ahsoka decided that it wasn’t worth pointing out how much Ventress’s situation sounded like hiding. The Empire hunting Force-sensitives wasn’t new news, but to know they were going after grown ones, even dark-side-users, was worrying. Besides, poking at Ventress wasn’t productive, even if it felt oddly nostalgic. ‘Alright, so why come to me?’

Ventress took a deep breath and visibly controlled herself. Her eyes even slid shut and Ahsoka wondered how deliberate that trust display was. Of course, it was much less of a combat disadvantage for a Force-user. Ventress opened her eyes again, but still refused to meet Ahsoka’s gaze. ‘You’re useful. You also dislike the Empire and you still owe me.’

Ahsoka bristled. ‘Owe you? I don’t owe you anything.’

Ventress smiled and closed the distance between them. Ahsoka placed her hands on her lightsabers and tried to ignore the way her heart had started beating faster. ‘I helped you, at no little cost to myself when you were being hunted,’ Ventress said. ‘You never got the chance to vouch for me before you severed the last ties with your precious little Order. You _owe_ me and I’ve come to collect.’

‘I left because I had to! After everything they didn’t trust me and then they tried to tell me it was a good thing that they turned on me!’

Ventress’s expression didn’t change in the face of Ahsoka’s outburst. ‘Your choice was a good one and I wasn't trying to say otherwise. But it looks like you haven’t left all your resentment behind. Even now.’ Ventress was watching very closely now and Ahsoka could feel the faintest edge of dark-side power reaching out to flick against Ahsoka’s outer shields. 

Ahsoka stepped back, brushing Ventress away physically and in the Force. ‘I’m done dwelling on the past and have been for a long time now. I don’t think I owe you, but what exactly do you think I can give you?’

‘Vengeance,’ Ventress answered without a trace of hesitation. ‘The Empire is after me as a Force-sensitive. I have been attacked and harried and I want them destroyed. You will help me.’

Ahsoka gave Ventress a long look. The covert work she was doing for the Rebellion was mostly intelligence gathering, but ultimately she wanted to take a more active role in bringing down the Empire. Her work was also secret, and she didn’t like to think that Ventress had worked it out somehow. If she’d even worked it out. Ultimately, Ahsoka had learned not to turn down help that she could use, even from… dubious sources. 

‘I have my own reasons for wanting to destroy the Empire. You’re welcome to help _me_.’

Ventress gave a thin smile. ‘Very well.’

///

Ahsoka decided to take Ventress planet-side on a routine intel-gathering mission. Her contact was a smuggler who passed on information about the Empire through less than official channels. The tips didn’t always pan out, either because they were out of date, or just plain false, but the rate of usable information made him useful enough.

Sarkul was his usual nervous self when they arrived. His double-take on seeing Ventress was almost comical.

‘Who’s that?’ Sarkul asked.

‘An old friend,’ said Ahsoka. 

Ventress snorted. She wasn’t facing either of them and instead was pacing a perimeter around their meeting place. It was a pretty pointless exercise considering how barren this part of the planet was. There weren’t even any large predators to worry about in the rocky wasteland, let alone people living this far inland.

Ahsoka turned back to Sarkul. ‘Okay, what have you got for me? The intel about the weapons shipping was useful, but I can’t find any other sources to confirm what you said about the troop movements near the Maw Cluster.’ 

Sarkul looked beyond Ahsoka’s shoulder at where Ventress was still prowling around. ‘Yes, the Maw Cluster. Well, you’d expect better information about Empire shipping patterns from me than troop movements. What I know is mostly for my own benefit, you know.’

Ahsoka sighed internally. ‘Yes, I know and we’re grateful for whatever information you can give us,’ she said and fished out the credits for Sarkul’s… honorarium. 

Sarkul eyed the credits, but his gaze wandered back toward Ventress again. He flinched. Ahsoka turned around and twitched when she found Ventress _right there_. 

‘Kriff! Make some noise! You’re like a ghost.’

Instead of smirking, Ventress was staring at Sarkul. ‘He’s afraid.’

‘And no wonder with you sneaking around like an overgrown spukamas.’

Ventress expression was flat and cold. ‘No, that’s not it. He’s afraid of something else… something that’s coming.’

Sarkul backed away. ‘Shut up, witch! I’m not afraid of you.’

Ventress palmed one of her lightsabers, but she didn’t turn it on. ‘What’s coming, smuggler? Why are you so afraid?’

‘Ventress,’ Ahsoka warned, putting her hands on her own lightsabers.

‘Nothing!’ Sarkul stammered.

‘He’s a valuable contact, stop harassing him,’ Ahsoka said. It had probably been a mistake bringing Ventress here on a mission where she had nothing better to do than pace and intimidate.

‘He’s hiding something,’ Ventress insisted.

Ahsoka stepped between them and stared into Ventress’s cold eyes. ‘Back off.’ Just then her scanner started beeping. It was linked to her ship’s systems, which were constantly surveying deep space and hyperspace for the telltale energy signatures from other ships. This beep was the proximity alarm and the frequency suggested that the vessel was approaching _fast_. Too fast for a civilian or commercial ship.

Ventress must have read the worry on Ahsoka’s face because a triumphant look flashed behind her eyes. ‘Something wrong?’ she asked with mock-concern.

‘This doesn’t prove anything,’ Ahsoka said, turning back to Sarkul. The smuggler’s eyes darted to Ahsoka’s scanner before he turned and fled.

Ventress sprang after him with a snarl. ‘Betrayer!’ she yelled. Her rage welled up and she lashed out with a burst of dark-side power. Sarkul came to a dead stop and Ventress hauled him back with the Force. She slammed him against the ground at her feet and kicked him over onto his back.

‘What did you do?’ she hissed at him.

Sarkul flinched. ‘Nothing, nothing, I—’ 

Ventress clenched a fist and Sarkul choked against the invisible threads of Force power around his throat. 

Ahsoka scowled. ‘Ventress, enough.’ She didn’t try to break Ventress’ hold though. Information about exactly what was after them could be vital.

‘Who did you betray us to?’ Ventress demanded.

Sarkul was terrified and his emotions bled into the Force. ‘The Empire, of course! Who else would care about an old Jedi? I had to, okay! They have ways of getting cooperation, they have power—’

Ventress choked him into silence again. ‘You will give the Jedi the information she wanted. I will know if you’re lying.’ Ventress released her hold on him and Sarkul gasped for breath. ‘And let me show you how _I_ ensure cooperation,’ she said. In a movement almost too quick to follow, let alone stop, Ventress activated her lightsaber blade and sliced clean through Sarkul’s left wrist. He screamed and the scent of burned flesh filled the air. 

‘Ventress!’ Ahsoka yelled, automatically flinging Ventress back with a burst of Force power.

‘I’ll talk! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything, please!’ Sarkul screamed where he lay, clutching at the stump of his arm.

Ventress got to her feet and deactivated her lightsaber. ‘Ask your questions quickly. We have to go,’ she said, ignoring Ahsoka’s outrage. 

She was right, kriff her. They had to go and the information Sarkul might know could be crucial to the Rebellion. ‘This isn’t over,’ Ahsoka bit out from between her clenched teeth.

Ventress shrugged. Ahsoka got the information she needed, relying on Ventress to sense deception. She was way too clouded by horror and rage to read someone else’s feelings right now. 

///

Emotions turned over in Ahsoka’s mind. The old techniques for keeping them in check surfaced without her conscious choice. This was lucky because the Empire were sending a fucking cruiser to their location. She managed to last the whole trip back out of atmosphere and into hyperspace before saying anything, but once they were clear, she engaged the autopilot and rounded on Ventress.

‘What the fuck was that!’ she yelled. ‘You cut off that guy’s arm. How much further would you have gone if he hadn’t broken?’

Ventress’s lip curled up in a sneer. ‘As far as I needed to go to get answers.’

‘I thought you were better than this, or at least that you wouldn’t do anything while I was right there. You used to hold back, if only for my sake.’

‘Things change,’ said Ventress steadily.

‘Well you’re not doing anything like that again if you’re even thinking about staying on my ship. I don’t torture. There are lines that I’m not willing to cross.’ Ventress was strong, intelligent and a survivor. She could be an asset to the Rebellion, but not like this. Not if she couldn’t curb her darker instincts.

‘And why not? My way _works_.’

Ahsoka’s lips pressed into a thin line. ‘Because I’m not becoming like them. Or like you.’

Pain flashed in Ventress’s eyes before quickly vanishing beneath the ever-present rage. ‘I understand, Jedi.’ Her voice had gone flat and cold.

Ahsoka let out a long breath and resettled her stance into something less aggressive. ‘I’m not… look, I’m not really a Jedi anymore, and whatever you said about clinging to the old ways, you don’t feel like a Sith. Not really. There are philosophies from my old Order that I agree with, but there’s also a lot I’ve unlearned. I thought you were doing the same thing after… after everything.’

‘I was unlearning,’ Ventress said after a lengthy pause, ‘and it was foolish of me. I’ve _lost_. In ways you couldn’t even–’ She slashed a hand through the air, dismissing the topic. Then she turned away and went over to the ship’s controls, seeming to stare at the navigation readouts.

Ahsoka blinked. ‘What?’

‘Nothing, Jedi. Let it lie.’

Ahsoka approached slowly. Ventress tensed but didn’t shake off the hand that Ahsoka placed on her shoulder. ‘Hey, tell me about it.’

Ventress muttered something under her breath, but turned around after a moment. ‘The Empire is hunting Force-sensitives. There’s enough zabrak blood in Dathomir’s population that most of us are sensitive. The Empire hasn’t been kind to my homeworld.’ Her smile was sharp and bitter.

‘So the solution is to become something even worse?’ Ahsoka asked.

‘The solution is to pour those feelings into the Force, and use them!’ Ventress snarled. ‘Better than the helplessness. Better than feeling and not being able to _do_ anything with it,’ she finished in a quieter voice.

Something twisted in Ahsoka’s gut. She understood that more easily than she wanted to admit. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, catching Ventress’s eyes and trying to make her feel the depth of sincerity in those words. It didn’t excuse Ventress’s behaviour, but it made it easier to understand.

Ventress’s snarl deepened. ‘Don’t pity me! I will _not_ be pitied.’

Ahsoka kept her expression neutral. She didn’t really know what to say to that.

Ventress’s expression evened out into something like a smile and she took a step forward into Ahsoka’s space. ‘I enjoyed it, you know. Seeing that nothing smuggler cowering before me, begging, hurting.’ Ventress’s voice was silkier now, the rage almost completely hidden.

Ahsoka scowled. ‘Stop it.’

Ventress tilted her head to one side. ‘Stop what? Telling the truth? I like holding power over others. I like it when I have their lives in the palm of one hand.’ She brought her hand palm up, curling her fingers like claws in demonstration. Her eyes flicked up to catch Ahsoka’s gaze. ‘I even like it when you try and hold me back and I hurt them anyway. And you just stand there, twisted up in your little Jedi beliefs.’

Ahsoka couldn’t help herself. She lashed out. Ventress caught the hand aimed at her face, but she didn’t expect Ahsoka’s other fist ramming into her gut. Ventress’s breath gusted out of her lungs, but she sprang back, her hands raised in a balanced defensive stance. Ahsoka bared her teeth. ‘I said stop it. I don’t know what you want from this but I’m not going to fight you.’

Ventress gradually lowered her hands. She sniffed. ‘A pity. I could use a fight.’

Ahsoka shook her head. ‘Unbelievable. I can’t even tell how much of it you really mean.’

‘I could use a fight. That much is certainly true.’

Ahsoka pulled a face. ‘Really? That’s what you want with me?’

Ventress’s expression turned thoughtful. It was really hard keeping up with someone who felt _so much_. Even after leaving the Jedi, Ahsoka struggled to understand the sheer amount of emotion that untrained people dealt with. The way an ex-Sith felt emotion was even stronger and more erratic. It probably explained a lot about Ventress.

‘There is something else beside fighting,’ Ventress admitted. Her stance had completely lost its aggressive edge and the silkiness in her voice was back. It sounded less threatening now, but no less dangerous. Ventress closed the distance between them again.

Ahsoka held her ground, but shifted slightly to one side, presenting a smaller target. ‘Oh?’

A slow smile spread across Ventress’s expression. She hummed in the back of her throat. ‘Yes. There’s a reason I sought you out, rather than any of the other thousand people fighting a private war against the Empire.’ She reached out to touch one of Ahsoka’s lekku. Ahsoka drew back slightly, ignoring the way her heart had started pounding. It was like Ventress had never heard of personal space. 

‘What, you chose me because you find me attractive?’ Ahsoka asked.

Ventress met her gaze steadily. ‘I chose you because you understand. You understand betrayal and hiding and hunting… and being alone.’

Ahsoka exhaled slowly. She knew she was providing valuable information to the Rebellion. She wasn’t alone. Not really. It was just hard to remember that, deep in the black and light years away from any friendly faces. Accepting the advances of an ex-Sith was almost certainly a bad idea. In a moment she’d remember why.

‘I think you see similarities between us that aren’t really there,’ Ahsoka finally said. She didn’t pull away though; didn’t make any attempt to stop this… whatever it was.

A half-smile curled the corner of Ventress’s lips. It was the most genuinely happy expression Ahsoka had seen her make. ‘I think you ignore the similarities between us to try and make them untrue. It doesn’t work like that, Jedi.’

‘I’m not a Jedi anymore.’

‘Then you’re probably allowed to do this,’ Ventress said and leaned in to ghost a kiss across Ahsoka’s lips. 

Ahsoka licked her lips when Ventress drew back. ‘Jedi were never forbidden from this,’ she replied and leaned in to return the kiss.

Ventress made a pleased sound and her hand came up again to touch Ahsoka’s left lek. This time Ahsoka didn’t stop her and just let herself enjoy the light touch. It was kind of weird for Ventress to be this gentle. Even when she wasn’t actively fighting, her every movement tended to be sharp and powerful. 

Ahsoka deepened their kiss and then nipped playfully at Ventress’s lip. Ventress gave a sharp hiss and pulled back. ‘Be careful of those venom-fangs, togruta.’

Ahsoka looked at her blankly for a moment. Then a smile curved around her lips. Moving too fast for Ventress to respond, Ahsoka sprang forward and bit hard at the underside of Ventress’s jaw. Ventress pulled back, growling, and looked about a heartbeat away from drawing her lightsabers. 

Ahsoka couldn’t help herself. She burst into laughter. ‘Sorry, but the look on your face! It’s just a rumour. We’re not venomous, but it’s worthwhile keeping the myth alive. And, so you know, it’s only slightly better calling me “togruta” rather than “Jedi”.’

Ventress stopped pressing her hand against Ahsoka’s bite-mark and some of the aggressive tension left her stance. ‘ _Not_ venomous,’ she said thoughtfully, her eyes flicking across Ahsoka’s face and lips. ‘Useful knowledge. You are carnivores though,’ she said with more certainty. 

‘Oh yes,’ Ahsoka said, pushing Ventress back against the wall opposite the ship controls. ‘My people are fierce hunters.’ She barred her pointed teeth, enjoying the way Ventress’s breath was coming faster now. Ventress traced a line down Ahsoka’s other lek in retaliation, eliciting a shivery sensation that went right up to the tips of her montrals. 

‘How barbaric,’ Ventress said with an amused note in her tone. ‘Such backward practices are usually left to the males of my people. Women have more important things to do with their time than chase after animals.’

‘Oh, what kind of important things?’ Ahsoka asked, playing along. Without waiting for an answer, she leaned in and bit at Ventress’s neck again, lighter this time, before drawing her into another kiss. 

Ventress grabbed both of Ahsoka’s front lekku and used her grip to change the angle of the kiss. Her sinewy thigh slid between Ahsoka’s legs and her nails pricked lightly against Ahsoka’s skin.

‘We should take this to my quarters,’ Ahsoka said when she drew back for breath again. 

Ventress smirked. She was still holding onto Ahsoka’s lekku, but now she slid her hands down, following the curves of her chest before settling on her hips. ‘Yes, a good idea.’

Ahsoka pushed away from the wall and strode toward her room. Ventress’s presence at her back was thick with emotion. It was like she wasn’t bothering to shield at all. Her Force signature usually felt that way during a fight. Ahsoka pushed the thought away and reminded herself that it wasn’t (inadvisable, dangerous, plain foolish) _actually dark_ to sleep with a dark-side-user. Also, if Ventress were going to do anything hostile, she wouldn’t be able to stop from broadcasting it over the entire kriffing ship. 

When they entered Ahsoka’s quarters, Ventress immediately pushed her face-first against the nearest wall. It was probably retaliation. Ahsoka just managed to avoid whacking her nose against durasteel surface and growled as Ventress licked a stripe up her back lek.

‘Do you have a thing for my lekku?’ Ahsoka asked, bracing her hands against the wall and waiting for an opportunity to turn this around. It was both thrilling and a little unsettling to have Ventress at her back like this.

Ventress hummed. ‘I like the way the blue patterns shade deeper.’ Ahsoka’s face heated at that. ‘It’s nice to know I’m having an effect, considering how hard it is to read in your tiny, suppressed Jedi signature.’

Ahsoka threw her weight backward, but Ventress had anticipated it. She grabbed Ahsoka’s forearms and pressed them back against the wall, destroying any chance for leverage. 

‘Would you _stop_ calling me a Jedi?’ Ahsoka demanded, her face a hairsbreadth from the surface of the wall. 

Ventress was silent for a moment. When she spoke again there was an odd note in her voice. ‘You do feel like one. Still. Your signature is that concentrated bright point in the Force. I know what a Jedi feels like.’ She said the last sentence very quietly.

Emotions were roiling in Ventress’s signature, far too many for Ahsoka to parse. ‘You don’t feel like a Sith,’ Ahsoka said after a moment of silence. ‘I mean, sure, dark and emotional, but not… not so angry, not so hateful.’

Ventress’s fingers dug into Ahsoka’s forearms for a moment before easing. ‘We’ll make a deal. I stop calling you Jedi and you don’t talk about whatever you think you can feel in my signature.’

Ahsoka briefly considered saying something about how Ventress should stop projecting if she didn’t want herself read, but she discarded the thought. This felt too important for poking. ‘Deal.’

‘Good,’ Ventress said, before leaning forward and biting softly at Ahsoka’s left lek. Ahsoka gasped and automatically tipped her head to the right. Ventress released her arms to grab at Ahsoka’s hips. Her long fingers bracketed Ahsoka’s waist and brushed against the tops of her thighs.

Ahsoka pushed off the wall and turned around, placing her arms around Ventress’s shoulders. Ahsoka skimmed her nails from the base of Ventress’s skull and down the back of her neck. Ventress’s grip tightened and she shuddered. Ahsoka did it again and this time Ventress hissed between her teeth and leaned back against the light pressure. ‘You’re wearing too many clothes,’ she muttered, plucking at Ahsoka’s belt.

‘Says the woman wearing full robes,’ Ahsoka replied.

Ventress gave her a thin-lipped smile and stepped back. Then she drew her lightsabers and after a reluctant pause, she walked over to Ahsoka’s bedside and placed them on the side-table. She stepped away from the table and folded her arms, giving Ahsoka a long look.

Ahsoka blinked. She drew her own lightsabers, ignoring the way Ventress tensed, and put them down where she usually did before bed. Ventress was watching her with an unreadable expression. Ahsoka sighed. ‘I know you might _feel_ like you’re naked without them, but from my perspective, you’re still wearing about a hundred layers.’

Ventress snorted and shucked her outer robe, revealing tight combat gear. Ahsoka made an appreciative noise as her eyes caught on the sharp angles and lithe muscles of Ventress’s body. It took her a moment to remember that she was also meant to be undressing. Her gear was about as form-fitting as Ventress’s, so it wouldn’t get in the way when she fought, but it was less elaborate and a lot quicker to remove. 

Ahsoka was fully naked before Ventress had finished removing her pants. She let her gaze trail over the freshly bared skin of Ventress’s torso. There were a lot of scars. Ahsoka had her own share from the war, but some of Ventress’s looked… less random… than the sort of thing a person picked up on the battlefield. 

Ventress finished undressing and realised what Ahsoka was staring at. ‘Is there a problem?’ she snapped and Ahsoka remembered what she’d said about pity earlier.

‘No,’ Ahsoka said with a shrug. ‘They’re very you.’

Ventress snorted, but some of the tension that had been building in her shoulders relaxed. That play of muscle was very interesting and Ahsoka stepped forward and cupped the side of Ventress’s face. She kissed her slowly, occasionally grazing her teeth over Ventress’s lip. Based on the way Ventress twitched and exhaled sharply, she’d remembered that the venom was a myth, but couldn’t quite suppress the threat warnings from her instincts. Interestingly, it just made her press into the kiss harder. Maybe Ahsoka wasn’t the only one enjoying the hint of danger.

During the kiss, Ventress’s hands had wandered up Ahsoka’s hips and ribs and now she was palming Ahsoka’s breasts. The light pressure sent pleasant sparks down Ahsoka’s back. She slid her lips away from Ventress’s and nipped down her jaw and throat. Ventress’s grip tightened painfully and Ahsoka gasped against her neck. ‘Careful, Ventress!’

‘You too,’ Ventress snapped. ‘I don’t quite trust you enough to have your teeth in my throat.’

Ahsoka drew back with an apologetic lick. ‘It’s the venom-teeth, isn’t it?’ she asked with a half-smile.

Ventress gave her a pointed look. ‘Or perhaps it’s because you’re a carnivore that doesn’t even _need_ venom to kill prey.’

Ahsoka barked a laugh. ‘You’re not exactly a herbivore yourself. And ex-Sith are definitely more dangerous than ex-Jedi.’

A smile curled up one side of Ventress mouth. ‘Then let’s both keep our hands where we can see them and keep our teeth away from throats.’

‘I hope you’re not planning on keeping our teeth away from _all_ our vulnerable parts,’ Ahsoka said archly. 

‘Ridiculous,’ Ventress said, but didn’t clarify, instead opting to glide her nails down Ahsoka’s ribs. She turned to eye Ahsoka’s bed. ‘It’s not very big, is it?’

‘This is a space ship! I’m hardly flying around with excess weight and space to spare,’ Ahsoka pointed out. 

Ventress hummed. ‘Go and sit up on it with your back against the headboard.’ She punctuated her entirely presumptive command by sliding her hands down Ahsoka’s body, grazing the tops of her thighs and just brushing between her legs before drawing back. ‘Well?’ she said while Ahsoka tried to remember how to breathe. It had been too long since she’d last done this.

‘Don’t think you can get away with ordering me around,’ Ahsoka said, but her voice had gone tellingly husky. Ventress just smirked at her. It made Ahsoka want to bite the upward curve of her lip. In the end, it was curiosity more than anything else that persuaded Ahsoka to move toward the bed. That and the realisation that stubbornness would get neither of them what they wanted.

Ahsoka settled on the bed like Ventress asked, and tilted her head in a clear challenge. Ventress’s smirk broadened and she stalked over. She ran a hand up Ahsoka’s thigh and tugged. Ahsoka tensed her muscles and only parted her legs once Ventress stopped pulling at her.

‘I’m trying to be _nice_. The least you could do is cooperate,’ Ventress said. 

Ahsoka grabbed Ventress around the waist, pulling her down to the bed and capturing her lips in another kiss in one fluid movement. ‘But it’s more fun wrecking your attempts to take charge.’

Ventress muttered something rude under her breath. Ahsoka grinned and then gasped when Ventress ran her nails up the insides of her thighs. Ventress’s fingers had stopped just on the edge of touching Ahsoka’s sex. She felt the barest hint of a fingertip against her labia and she couldn’t help herself from pressing up against Ventress’s touch.

Ventress took advantage of her distraction and leaned forward to swipe her tongue across Ahsoka’s right nipple. Ahsoka yelped and then twitched hard when Ventress bit down, the sensation just short of painful.

‘What was that about teeth and vulnerable parts?’ Ahsoka panted.

‘I’m not the one with imaginary venom.’

Ahsoka twitched again as Ventress moved onto her other nipple, this time flicking her tongue across it and keeping her teeth out of the way. Ventress’s hands had also snuck up further, one of her thumbs now circling around the outside of Ahsoka’s clit. It was a maddeningly light touch that was so close to where she wanted it. Ahsoka tried shifting her hips to get Ventress to touch her properly. ‘Come on,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘What’s that?’ Ventress asked. ‘You’d like me to cooperate, perhaps?’

Ahsoka growled. ‘Okay, you’ve made your point just – ah!’ she yelped as Ventress nipped the underside of her breast. Ventress chuckled and moved down the bed, putting her face down right next to where her hands were still lightly teasing. Then Ventress licked her, a broad stroke with the flat of her tongue that made Ahsoka arch up. This was the exact opposite of those teasing touches and Ventress seemed utterly focused on providing as much slick pressure as possible. 

Ahsoka grabbed the bed covers with one hand and, after a moment of hesitation, placed her other hand on the smooth curve of Ventress’s head. Ventress’s eyes snapped open and caught Ahsoka’s gaze. The look in those pale eyes made Ahsoka shiver and her nails skittered briefly against the back of Ventress’s head. Once it was obvious that she wasn’t trying to direct things, Ventress’s eyes slid closed again and she moved up slightly to tongue Ahsoka’s clit.

Ahsoka gasped again, pleasure lancing through her quick and merciless. Her hips twitched and stuttered while she tried to stay still. Ventress’s nails sank into her left thigh as a warning and even the light pain tangled together with the pleasure. ‘Fuck, please!’ Ahsoka shouted. 

Ventress made a satisfied sound and grazed the very edge of her teeth against Ahsoka’s clit before managing to press forward far enough to redouble her efforts. At the increase of speed and pressure, Ahsoka was gone. She clutched at the sheets and at Ventress’s head, bucking up hard as she came. The sound she made tore from her throat and pleasure pulsed through her in an inexorable wave.

Ahsoka panted as she came down from the high. Her eyes locked with Ventress who was smirking up at her in lazy satisfaction. Something in Ahsoka snarled at that and she hauled Ventress up the bed, biting the smirk off those lips and running her hands over Ventress’s arms and chest. She flipped them over so Ventress was pinned beneath her this time. For the briefest moment, Ventress went tense and drew on the Force. Then, with a visible effort, she relaxed and let the power dissipate unused. Ahsoka relaxed her own grip. She hadn’t quite realised how tightly she’d grabbed Ventress’s shoulders.

Unlike Ventress, Ahsoka didn’t play around. Instead, she trailed her lips and tongue down between Ventress’s breasts before immediately shuffling down far enough to get her face between Ventress’s legs. She was backed up against the headboard and had to hunch, but it was worth it for the way Ventress sighed at the first touch of Ahsoka’s tongue. Then Ventress ran a hand down one of Ahsoka’s lekku. Of course. Ahsoka snorted softly and flicked her tongue rapidly against Ventress’s clit. She also brought a hand up and started touching, rubbing gently at Ventress’s entrance. 

Ahsoka lifted her head. ‘Is this okay?’ she asked.

Ventress’s grip on her lek had tightened when Ahsoka had stopped to ask the question. ‘Yes, yes, fine,’ Ventress snapped. ‘Do whatever you want.’

Ahsoka ducked her head and went back to licking so that the expression of naked surprise wouldn’t be visible on her face. She wondered if Ventress knew just how much trust she was revealing with that one statement. Setting the thought aside, Ahsoka also licked over her own fingers. The first one slid in smoothly and Ventress gave a hoarse cry. 

‘Press up,’ Ventress ordered. ‘Please. Harder.’

A grin tugged at Ahsoka’s lips and she worked a second finger into Ventress, pressing up hard. She had said ‘please’ after all, and it was probably a good idea to encourage it.

Ventress cried out and her hands left Ahsoka to scrabble at the bedcovers instead. Ahsoka slung her free arm over Ventress’s hips to press her down against the mattress and started an alternating rhythm between the movements of her tongue and her fingers.

Ventress’s Force signature was wild with feeling and pressed against the barriers of Ahsoka’s own mind. She was so _loud_. It was completely unlike the feel of a Jedi or a Force-null and the sensation was making Ahsoka dizzy with strength of it. This meant Ahsoka could almost feel the moment that Ventress tipped over the edge. Her cries got louder, but it was nothing compared to the storm of her Force-signature. Ventress clenched around Ahsoka’s fingers and the rest of her muscles locked up. As she came, she went silent, tension practically humming through her body. 

Ahsoka worked her very gently through the aftershocks, barely moving her fingers or her tongue. Slowly the tension left Ventress and she relaxed by increments until she was sprawling bonelessly on the bed. She made a low sound of satisfaction, almost a purr, and reached out blindly. Ahsoka straightened out, lying half on top of and half beside Ventress, still facing the wrong way on the narrow bed.

‘You are very good at that,’ Ventress said, absently touching Ahsoka on the head and shoulder.

‘You too,’ Ahsoka said with a smirk.

‘Much better than I’d expect from a Je–’ Ventress stopped herself. ‘Better than I would have expected, Ahsoka.’

Ahsoka blinked. She cleared her throat. ‘Nice backhanded compliment, there. Asajj.’ 

Asajj’s hand stilled. After a moment she resumed her stroking as if nothing had happened. ‘Well, I try my best,’ she said.


End file.
